Women’s Right to Land Ownership in Swat State Areas: The Swat State era and the post-State scenario

This paper deals with women’s right to land in the former Swat state areas. The author argues that inheritance was according to customary law (riwaj) which did not recognize women’s Islamic right of inheritance, disputed cases could be taken before the quazi to be decided according to the Shariat although at the discretion of the leader. But the extension of the West Pakistan Muslim personal Law (Shariat) application Act of 1962 to the Swat region in 1976 formally provided for women’s inheritance according to Muslim law. A landmark decision of the Supreme court in 1990 however while holding that women cannot be deprived of their quaranic share, nevertheless recognized that females can give up their share to male agnates.